


you skateboarded your way right into my heart

by musicals_musicals



Series: Newsies Stuff [18]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artist!Sarah, Drawing, F/F, First Dates, First Meetings, Fluff, Love at First Sight, M/M, Meet-Cute, Sarah's POV - Freeform, Skateboarding, Swearing, jack is only mentioned but ill tag him anyway, sarah doesnt know shit about skateboarding which is good because i dont either, skateboarder!kath, so look forward to that, the skater/artist au we have all been waiting for, this isn't a soulmate au but you're going to feel like its a soulmate au, we earn the T rating, with one(1) use of the word fuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24295096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicals_musicals/pseuds/musicals_musicals
Summary: Sarah watched fascinated, as Katherine leaned forward and off she went down the ramp. She was approaching another ramp, her knees bending slightly until she reached the top of the ramp and  jumped, skateboard in hand. She landed on the flat part at the top, sticking the landing and rolling off the ramp on the other side of the platform and turning until she was stopped. Sarah forced herself to look back at her sketchbook where the leaves of the tree were starting to look more like Katherine’s hair than anything you might find on a plant.
Relationships: Bill/Darcy (Newsies), David Jacobs & Sarah Jacobs, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sarah Jacobs/Katherine Plumber Pulitzer
Series: Newsies Stuff [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1116075
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I found this sitting mostly finished in my drive so I thought I'd finally finish and post it. Because of that there are probably continuity errors, I hopefully fixed most of them (Sarah's hair no longer changes length halfway through) but let me know if theres anything big.

Sarah’s eyes drifted while she walked through the park, checking to see which benches were empty and which were occupied. Her sketchbook held under one arm along with the tin of her favorite colored pencils. She was wearing simple clothes, just jeans and a t-shirt with her hair pushed out of her face. As Sarah walked she admired the trees that were starting to change color it was the beginning of fall, Sarah’s favorite season, but it was still warm enough that she didn’t need a coat.

Sarah turned left to make her way to her favorite bench, located in a nice corner of the park that had a wonderful view of the trees, and was usually empty and quiet. Except today.

The bench came into view and Sarah found that a family with three kids who couldn’t be older than seven had taken residence around and on the bench. Sarah considered sitting there anyway, as there was still room on the edge of the bench, but decided against it, she would never be able to focus with three kids yelling and playing right next to her. 

Having made her decision Sarah spun around swiftly to walk in a different direction. As Sarah was passing the small skate park she heard a loud thud and looked over. Someone had fallen hard off to the side closest to Sarah, she walked closer to make sure they didn’t need help when they turned around.

The first thing Sarah was struck with was the confidence in which this girl held herself, even with a bleeding cut on her arm she still radiated elegance and confidence. The next thing Sarah noticed was that this girl was possibly the most beautiful person she had ever laid eyes on, her hair was cut short in an uneven curly red blob, with an orangish pink clip holding it out of her eyes under her helmet. Her eyes were golden brown with smudged eyeliner that made the gold specks pop and sparkle. Her pink lips stood out against her tan skin, and they looked so soft, Sarah could only imagine what it would feel like to kiss her.

“Excuse me, are you okay?” Sarah suddenly realized that the girl was now leaning against the fence waving in Sarah’s direction.

“Oh, sorry. I’m fine, I was just…” Sarah glanced around until her eyes landed on a bench next to the fence “Looking for a place to sit and draw” Sarah waved her sketchbook awkwardly and speed walked to the bench.

“Okay?” The girl still looked confused but to Sarah’s relief she just turned around to walk back up the closest ramp. 

Sarah took a deep breath and leaned back against the bench “That could’ve gone better” She muttered as she opened her sketchbook to the next empty page and spun a pencil in her fingers. She chanced a look back at the skatepark to see the girl sit down on the edge of a ramp next to a boy. Of course she was straight, that was obviously her boyfriend, why did Sarah bother getting her hopes up. The boy was obviously a skater too, he had a skateboard balanced across his lap and a helmet was discarded off to the side. Sarah pulled her eyes away and instead focused on the closest tree which happened to be a tall maple, that was already starting to turn yellow. She mindlessly started sketching the outline of the tree, but her attention was pulled away again by the girl.

She was now standing with her skateboard on the edge of the bigger ramp while she talked to the boy. Sarah watched fascinated, as the girl leaned forward and off she went down the ramp. She was approaching another ramp, her knees bending slightly until she reached the top of the ramp and jumped, skateboard in hand. She landed on the flat part at the top, sticking the landing and rolling off the ramp on the other side of the platform and turning until she was stopped. Sarah was in love.

“Nice one Katherine!” A different voice called. Another boy had joined the other one on top of the first ramp and Sarah watched as they kissed before the new boy waved at the girl who was apparently named Katherine.

Maybe Sarah did stand a chance, with Katherine. What a beautiful name, Sarah wanted to say it a thousand times.

“Bill! You made it!” Katherine skated through a gap between the ramp from earlier and a rail thing before running up the ramp to high five the new boy, Bill.

Sarah forced herself to look back at her sketchbook where the leaves of the tree were starting to look more like Katherine’s hair than anything you might find on a plant. She forced herself to go back to the tree and was mostly successful , a semi-realistic tree started to form on the page. Sarah moved on the detailing the bark, carefully mapping out every swirl and bump built into the bark.

"Excuse me miss" Sarah looked up to find Katherine standing in front of her on the other side of the gate.

"Yes?" Sarah was proud that the words don't sound strained or awkward.

"My name is Katherine and I was wondering if you would be willing to film me doing a trick? If not it's no bother, but there's no one else here and my friends are lame" the last words were accompanied by a gesture at the two boys who were standing together, watching Katherine and giggling.

The girl’s polite demeanor surprised Sarah slightly, not that she was expecting Katherine to be rude, but Sarah was not used to being called 'miss'. Despite the mental stumble Sarah managed to respond in what hopefully was a short time "I would love to"

"Great!" Katherine smiled, causing the rest of her face to light up. "Thank you Miss-?"

"Please don't call me Miss, it's Sarah"

"Sounds good" In one fluid movement Katherine was over the fence and sitting next to Sarah on the bench, holding her phone with the camera already open.

Sarah could feel her heartbeat speed up, she was so close to Katherine, she could feel the heat radiating from the other girl. Katherine launched into an explanation of the trick she wanted to do, which Sarah attempted to follow, and failed. Katherine seemed to notice Sarah's confusion, and paused her explanation. "Or I could just tell you when the start and stop filming"

“That would probably be best” Sarah pushed her hair out of her face, once again glad that she had cut it short, even if it had caused problems with her mother. 

Katherine jumped back over the fence and winked at Sarah (this is flirting right?) “You ready?”

Sarah stood up to lean against the fence and held up the phone “Ready”

Within seconds Katherine had dropped the skateboard and was speeding down the ramp. Sarah watched as she went up the other side and flew into the air, doing a complicated spin/flip thing. Katherine landed without falling and rolled down the ramp. She slowly rolled to a stop in front of Sarah. “How was that?”

Sarah was unable to find words. The way Katherine’s hair had glinted in the sun, the sharp curves of her arms, the contrast of the dark clothes she was wearing with the blue sky, the way her eyes had glinted when the jump reached its peak, “It was beautiful”

“You’re beautiful” Katherine leaned even closer and Sarah could feel her face heat up. She was so distracted by Katherine’s proximity (and who is she kidding, Katherine’s lips), that she nearly jumped ten feet in the air when a new voice sounded.

“SMOOTH KATH” Sarah had forgotten about Katherine’s friends, and it seemed the other woman had too.

Katherine spun around and glared at them “DARCY WHAT THE FUCK I’M TRYING TO GET A DATE”

Sarah reached out and pulled Katherine back to the fence “I think you already succeeded” She leaned over the fence and kissed Katherine on the cheek. Sarah was still holding Katherine’s phone (she hastily stopped the recording that she had forgotten about). “May I?”

Katherine nodded and Sarah quickly put in her number before handing the phone back. “I’ll text you?”

“Don’t keep me waiting too long” Sarah teased, she picked up her discarded sketchbook and waved at Katherine. She had just left the park when her phone buzzed. 

**Unknown number:** _ are you free tonight? _

**Unknown number:** _ oh this is katherine _

**Unknown number:** _ or i guess you probably knew that _

**Katherine <3:** _unless you give out your number to a lot of random girls at parks_

**Katherine <3: ** _ i’ll just stop talking now _

_ Tonight sounds perfect! _


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So where are we going?”
> 
> “Dinner, then if you’re open to it I thought we could walk around a little and see where life takes us”
> 
> Sarah’s first thought upon hearing Katherine’s plan was _How did I meet my actual soulmate?_ By some miracle she did not say that out loud as that would’ve been embarrassing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> by some miracle i am actually finishing something so yay for that. this got super long idk what happened i just really love this AU and I really love kath and sarah in this AU.

“What the hell was I thinking ‘tonight sounds perfect’ I am a fool” Sarah threw yet another blouse into the rapidly growing pile on her bed, barely missing Davey’s head. “I have nothing to wear and I fell asleep with wet hair last night so now it's all sticking up and I can’t find my makeup bag even though it was right here this morning!” Sarah collapsed on her desk chair breathing heavily. This date had to be perfect.

“Okay so first of all, chill” Davey stood from the bed and patted Sarah’s arm on the way to her closet “Second of all, why can’t you wear any of these dresses?”

Sarah considered how she wanted to phrase her sentence “I want to feel confident because I really like Katherine and I don’t think I’ll be able to do that in a dress”

Davey nodded and moved to the bed where every formal shirt Sarah owned was part of the huge pile. “Do you know where you’re going for the date?”

“No, Katherine said she wanted the plan this one” They had been texting all day and Sarah kept having to remind herself that she’d only known Katherine for a few hours. Katherine had made a big deal out of keeping their date location a secret, it was exciting but Sarah couldn’t wait until it was her turn to plan.

“Cute, anyway what do you think of this one?” Davey pulled a shirt from the middle of the pile and tossed it at Sarah. It was a pink button up with blue trim on the collar and top of the pocket, it was cute except-

“It’s short sleeved. What if I get cold?”

Davey rolled his eyes and shoved Sarah’s shoulder nearly knocking her off the bed “First of all you realize it is summer right? It won’t drop below 70 outside for another month. Second, if you get that cold just put on a coat”

Sarah considered the shirt. It wasn’t very formal, when she wore it with light jeans she looked like she’d just walked off a farm, but with black jeans and a belt it would probably pass as dressing up a little. Katherine had specified “dress nice but not too nice” which this probably qualified for. “I’ll try it”

“Finally” Davey groaned “For the record I do have a life and things to do”

“Yeah I know,” Sarah shoved Davey in the direction of the door “Now get out of my room so I can change”

Davey muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “Ungrateful sister”

Sarah changed into the shirt and began to look for black jeans that didn’t have visible paint (spoiler alert: they don’t exist). She settled on a pair that was doing pretty well except for a splotch of yellow on one of the legs and some pink splatters across the side. Maybe Katherine would think it was charming.

**Katherine <3:** _omw now! be there in like 10 minutes_

_Can’t wait!_

Sarah thanked every god she knew that she had the forethought to do outfit planning last. She’d showered and done her hair and make up a few hours ago (though the make up was light thanks to the missing make up bag). She grabbed a simple necklace with a yellow sunflower pendant and threw on one of her chain bracelets. Sarah stopped behind her door in order to do a once over in the mirror. Nothing was too distinctly out of place, and she felt confident walking out of her bedroom.

Sarah sat on the front porch alternating between anxiously watching the road and fiddling with her bracelet.

“Haven’t you left yet?” Les slammed the front door and collapsed on the stair next to Sarah “Davey told me you have a hot date”

Sarah wrinkled her nose “Don’t call Katherine hot, you’re my baby brother”

Les kicked Sarah’s leg “I’m not that little, and anyway you met her today and you’re already smitten, she must be pretty hot”

Sarah sighed, this was ridiculous. No matter how many times she reminded herself that she’d only know Katherine for hours it didn’t keep her traitorous heart from insisting that they were meant to be. “What else did Davey tell you?”

“That you fell for a _skater_ ” 

Sarah couldn’t stop herself from laughing “Well when you say it like that–”

Her phone buzzed on the stair next to her and Sarah looked at the street for the first time since Les had come outside. Katherine stepped out of the car and Sarah swore her heart stopped. 

Katherine was wearing a simple green dress with flowers embroidered on the bottom. She looked nothing like the Katherine she’d met in the park, soft and pastel where Katherine from earlier had been all sharp and dark colors. As Katherine walked closer Sarah began to notice the similarities. She still had the same fire in her eyes, and her hair still had the same clip in the side. Katherine stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Hello”

Sarah smiled, “Hello” The dress Katherine was wearing was sleeveless and Sarah couldn’t help but appreciate the lines of her shoulders and arms.

“You look beautiful” Katherine held out a hand in offering and without even thinking Sarah used it to pull her into a hug.

“You look beautiful too”

“Oh my god you guys are so sappy” Sarah had forgotten about Les. “Making loving eye contact and hugging GROSS”

“LES do you MIND” Sarah reluctantly pulled away from Sarah to push her brother towards the door. He left but not before sticking his tongue out at Sarah who responded in kind. “I’m really sorry about him”

Katherine laughed “Don’t worry about it”

“Shall we go?” Sarah regretted the words as soon as she finished saying them but it was too late to take them back. She held out her arm in offering which Katherine took.

“Shall? Oh my Ms. Jacobs you flatter me” A blush was creeping it’s way over Katherine’s nose so Sarah considered this a win.

Katherine held the car door open for Sarah before climbing in the drivers side and starting the car. “So where are we going?”

“Dinner, then if you’re open to it I thought we could walk around a little and see where life takes us”

Sarah’s first thought upon hearing Katherine’s plans was _How did I meet my actual soulmate?_ By some miracle she did not say that out loud as that would’ve been embarrassing. Instead she settled on a simple “That sounds wonderful” 

“I have an aux cord if you want to turn on some music?” Katherine offered. She pulled a black cord from the glove box and handed it to Sarah.

“Sure” Sarah plugged the cord into her phone and scrolled through her playlists, settling on a calming instrumental one that she listened to while she drew.

\------

Katherine found herself looking away from the road more than was probably safe. Sarah looked beautiful and Katherine couldn’t wait to get out of the car so she no longer had to focus on things as trivial as traffic. Sarah was a vision, her short hair catching the sun coming in through the car window, giving her what almost looked like a crown of light. Katherine had never been one to believe in religion but Sarah looked like a goddess. She could be Apollo, controlling the sun.

Katherine turned into the parking lot and shut off the car “Here we are” She nervously watched as Sarah took in the new location. It wasn’t the fanciest place, family owned, but the food was always fantastic.

“It looks perfect” Sarah stepped out of the car and seemed to be admiring the mural that was painted on one of the windows, colorful flowers dancing over blues and greens. Katherine stifled a laugh, to the out side eye it looks beautiful and serious but–

“You know my friend Jack painted that” Katherine met up with Sarah and held out her arm like Sarah had done earlier “He describes it as ‘the mystery machine in scooby doo, but like, more gay because the flowers are going to be pride flags’”

Sarah snorted (adorably) and quickly covered her mouth as her face turned red. “That’s wonderful” She pulled Katherine along as she approached the window. Her hand hovered over the flower painted in familiar oranges and pinks “I see it now. It’s beautiful, subtle”

Katherine watched as Sarah’s hands danced over the design, seeing it from an artists perspective, tracing the swirls and brushstrokes. She spares a thought for the fact that Sarah and Jack would probably get along way too well (what? she has a type) and that she really hopes Jack isn’t working tonight because that would be embarrassing.

They finally make their way inside and to Katherine’s relief Jack is not working. An employee Katherine doesn’t recognize leads them to a table, and on the way Katherine pokes her head in the kitchen to wave at Medda who smiles and winks at her when she notices Sarah. “She owns this place” Katherine explains, “There’s a small theater upstairs where she puts on plays and performances, I worked publicity for a few years. It's amazing”

“Maybe next time we could see something here”

_She wants there to be a next time!_

\------

“So what made you pick up skateboarding?” Sarah asked “Trying to pick up girls?”

“Surprisingly no” Katherine smiled “It was actually a fit of rebellion” It was the summer after her mother died, leaving her alone with her father who she didn’t get along with in the best of times, and especially not when she just lost her mother. Little 12 year old Katherine had stormed out of the house (again) in a fit of rage and was walking to the library when she happened upon an old skateboard that had been discarded in the alley. Her thinking had gone somewhere along the lines of skateboarding equals dangerous equals dirty equals not girly equals father’s disapproval. “–by the end of the summer I had a broken wrist and my knees were destroyed”

“Hmm” Sarah spun her water glass, the condensation dripping down her fingers “Your childhood sounds far more interesting than mine. I think that was the year I learned how to sew. Part of my mother’s 18 year plan to turn me into the perfect housewife and marry me off to a perfect husband” Sarah’s eyes narrowed and she winked at Katherine (who was genuinely considering launching herself across the table and kiss Sarah as soon as possible no matter the social customs that came with being in public) “Shame that I’m a raging lesbian”

“She should compare notes with my father” Katherine absently tugged on a lock of her hair that had fallen from its clip, a nervous habit she could never quite break “The only thing he ever approved of was that I wanted to be a journalist”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he always said that I was following in his footsteps. Except I didn’t want to write pointless fluff pieces or sing the praises of an obviously corrupt politician. I wanted to call out people like him. I know that I have privilege and I want to use it to shine a light on people who don’t. I want to help people who feel helpless have a voice. I want to change things” Katherine abruptly shut her mouth and lowered her hands to her lap. It had been a recurring problem that she got a little heated when talking about things that she was passionate about and it tended to put people off talking to her in the future. She risked a glance at Sarah, expecting her to look put off or at least a little freaked, Katherine was not expecting to find the other woman smiling with a look in her eyes that Katherine could only think to associate with pride.

“That’s amazing”

“So what’s your story?” Katherine leaned over the table. It was a bit of an abrupt subject change, but she had been waiting to ask all night.

Sarah snorted and kicked Katherine’s ankle under the table “Your journalist is showing”

“No seriously” Katherine reached across the table and took Sarah’s hand “What are your hopes? Dreams? Job?”

“To tell the truth I’ve always been a bit of a lost soul. I love art, I enjoy it, I’ve been told that I’m good at it, but I don’t want it to be my job. I just don’t want to create things for a paycheck, even though realistically I know there is no shame in doing so, I want to only create things for me. I want to create things because inspiration struck and I couldn’t move until I put something down on a page” Sarah paused as if waiting for Katherine to interrupt before continuing. “I want to travel, see the world. I spent so much of my life in a small town with my family and it always felt so sheltered, I want the chance to learn, talk to people in different places, people who are living different lives, learn their stories, maybe find a little bit of that inspiration along the way”

Katherine couldn’t tear her eyes away from Sarah if she tried. Katherine had admittedly never been big on the concept of soulmates, but in a moment she swears her heart settles, her soul glows, she knows in a moment that she will never forget Sarah Jacobs, will never be able to shake the connection she feels. Katherine doesn’t believe in fate, but in this moment she believes in Sarah.

But it would be ridiculous if she said that out loud so she just settles for a simple “That’s amazing” and schools her expression into something a little less heart-eyes-emoji.

Their food finally comes and with it a small lull in the conversation. They both got pasta (it is Medda’s specialty), Sarah takes one bite and her eyes get really big “Oh my god”

“Good?” Katherine asks. She had doubted the date location, switching between here and a fancier restaurant before deciding that the familiar location would hopefully give her more confidence.

“This is amazing”

They’re just about finished with their food when the waiter reappears holding a plate with a mini cake on top “Medda told me to send this over when she left” They put the plate on the table and handed a small note to Katherine. 

_The best way to a woman’s heart is chocolate cake ; )_

Katherine stuffed the note in her pocket before Sarah could see and fought down the blush that was creeping over her face. “If you get a chance please tell her thank you”

“Of course” 

\-------

“So what now?” Sarah asked as they were walking out of the restaurant, taking Katherine’s hand in her own.

“This is the part where we see where life takes us” Katherine explained “And I think right now life is taking us to the river” She tugged on Sarah’s hand and led her to a rocky overlook.

Sarah leaned against the fence and closed her eyes, feeling the cool air “My family used to come here all the time, my brothers and I would hop the fence and climb down to the water”

“Let’s go”

“Uh, what?” Sarah opened her eyes to find Katherine already halfway over the fence “Right now?”

“Sure! Why not?” Katherine cleared the fence and dropped down to the ground below “I like nature, and water, and the sun should be setting soon, we can find somewhere to sit. It’ll be romantic”

It was very kind of the universe to create Sarah’s perfect equal. She took hold of the metal fence and hopped over, dropping the the ground next to Katherine “Hell yeah”

They made their way down the rocks, Katherine was shockingly nimble considering the fact that she was wearing a dress, and Sarah only tripped once which was probably a new record. Eventually they reached the bottom, taking a seat on a relatively flat rock with the water inches from their feet. Katherine was correct, in the time it had taken them to climb down the sun had begun to set, painting the sky in a rainbow of colors.

“This is beautiful” Katherine muttered, her thumb tracing circles on the back of Sarah’s hand.

“You’re beautiful” Sarah itched for her paint, the way Katherine looked with the backdrop of the sky. The light catching on her cheekbones and the curls in her hair, wrapping around the side of her neck. Sarah would even settle for colored pencils, something to capture the beauty of the moment.

“A romantic huh” Katherine turned away from the sun, and traced her fingers along the side of Sarah’s face “I wouldn’t have guessed”

“Hmm, you bring it out in me” Sarah ran her hand up Katherine’s bare arm, to her neck, before tangling in her short hair. Sarah wanted nothing more than to lean over a kiss Katherine, feel her lips, her soft breaths. Katherine seemed to agree, leaning closer and eyeing Sarah’s lips. “Could I?”

“Yes,” Katherine breathed. Sarah wasn’t exactly sure who kissed who but next thing she knew Katherine’s lips were on her own, Katherine’s hands cupping her face, red hair tickling the edge of Sarah’s cheek.

By the time they pulled away the sun had dropped beneath the horizon, rainbows of color replaced with the twinkling of stars.

“I really _really_ hate to say this, but I probably need to go” Sarah whispered, pressing another kiss to Katherine’s cheek. “This was amazing though” 

“It was. I’m glad you didn’t hate my date idea” Katherine stood up from the rock, offering Sarah a hand to pull herself up.

“I loved it” Sarah promised, it had been the perfect first date. “I get to plan the next one right?”

“Of course”

They made their way back to the sidewalk and then to Kathrine’s car. The ride back to Sarah’s house was peaceful. Katherine’s hand resting over Sarah’s while she drove. The lights at Sarah’s house were mostly off except Davey’s room (she would bet money he was going to corner her in the hall). Sarah leaned over the console and kissed Katherine one more time. “Goodnight”

“Goodnight” Katherine waved while Sarah climbed out of the car “Text me?”

“Obviously” Sarah teased, maybe they could coordinate to meet in the park again. The last thing she saw before closing the door was Katherine illuminated in the front seat by the streetlight, watching her walk through the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> katherine: so anyway down with capitalism
> 
> sarah: i would like to simply exist and learn and occasionally show up to help people
> 
> as usual i am on tumblr ([@musicals-musicals](https://musicals-musicals.tumblr.com/)) pls reblog the post for this fic if you liked it. love you all! kudos and comments are appreciated even though i suck at replying to comments (i do see and treasure them!!!)

**Author's Note:**

> I said that this is chapter 1/2 because I want to write a part 2 but honestly I don't know when or if thats actually going to happen.
> 
> As usual comments and kudos are very appreciated. If you liked this feel free to check out my tumblr [@musicals-musicals](https://musicals-musicals.tumblr.com/) and consider reblogging my post for this fic.


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